Catfish

Catfish stuffed with crab meat (husband brought it home from the grocery store) cooked in a skillet with a lid on the stovetop, red cabbage sauteed in olive oil, and brown rice (leftover and reheated to form lots of crunchy bits).

Oatmeal Cookies

For a recent family gathering I made several dozen oatmeal cookies, from a favorite cookie cookbook. I used their "crunchy" recipe, with walnuts but not raisins. The only other variation (common to most of my cookies) was substituting coconut oil for butter. They were fantastic, and disappeared quickly.

Lipstick Queen

My cosmetic of choice. This is a new line of lipstick from Poppy King, a make-up entrepeneur with a varied and impressive history. Since I will buy anything with a good story, I tried it out after reading about it, and I love it! It has taken me from bare-lipped to deeply pigmented. I favor Rose Sinner and Wine Sinner; I have my eye on the Saint shades for summer.

A Finished Quilt

This is my first-ever queen size quilt. I think it took me about two years from start to finish; I worked it all by hand, sitting in front of the TV, night after night. The white borders and pink centers are scraps left over from the making of my wedding dress; the brightly-colored silk rounds are scraps given to me by a family friend. My only regret about this quit, really, is that it is over; I loved piecing the flowers and adding them to the growing body.

This Teapot

which you can view here. About a week ago I was on the phone, talking about a particularly trying day I'd had. As I was describing my exhaustion and its discombobulating effects (locked myself out of my car, couldn't find my car, couldn't remember a student's name, etc.) I knocked my beloved black Cambria-made teapot to the ground and watched it shatter. "My karma is *%#&ed" I noted, and immediately resolved to replace it (the teapot) quickly and save my mourning energy for more urgent matters. Thus was the turning-ball purchased, and so far, so good.

White Tea

Specifically, China Silver Needle White. Delicious. But here's the thing. A few years ago, I was told by the proprietor of a Beverly Hills tea shop that white tea is "the champgne of teas," and frequenlty sold out in his shop despite its astronomical price. I immediately took a dislike to the whole idea of white tea, and became convinced that I was superior to all those rich fools ponying up for it. But then (recently) I got a free sample, and it was delicious, and I bought some, and it's delicious, and now I don't know if I think it's delicious because I secretly am a rich fool, or if it is, in fact, all that it's said to be. I try to remind myself that it's a tea, not a test.